TROUVE TRENCH VEST // SIMILAR PINAFORE DRESS (ALSO LOVE THIS) // SAM EDELMAN DAYNA PUMPS (LESS EXPENSIVE VERSION HERE) // OLD ANTHRO NECKLACE, LOVE THIS, THIS, & THIS // KAREN WALKER SUPER DUPER SUNGLASSES // TAUDREY "THE FASHIONISTA'S DIARY" BANGLE SET //
Most people who know me really well wouldn't say that I'm the most outgoing person, but this year I made a goal to be more social particularly in the blogging community. The one thing holding me back was that I'm absolutely terrified of public speaking and even get jittery sometimes just when meeting a lot of new people. I took FOUR classes in college to get out of taking just one public speaking class (insert cry laughing emoji here). So that was a little extreme and I probably should've taken steps to overcome this fear long ago, but it's never to late to start, right?! I wanted to share my story of overcoming my fear of public speaking because it's truly changed my outlook on a lot of things and made me work even harder to achieve my goals and I hope that it will inspire you to do the same!
When you take steps to overcome fears that are holding you back from reaching your #girlboss goals, you'll end up wishing you had started a long time ago! Earlier this year, I signed up for a blogger conference in Seattle and I was SO NERVOUS. The great news was that I had another blogger babe to go with. Walking into a room full of people I don't know is still a bit scary, but we're taking baby steps here ok! The event ended up being SO MUCH FUN, I met so many amazing women, learned a lot, and walked away feeling beyond inspired.
One month later, I was asked to be a featured influencer for the Style Boss series at Westfield Southcenter!(!) This opportunity was presented to me by the fabulous Sydney from Gossip & Glamour who I had met at my first blogger conference. Not only was this a huge opportunity for me, but yet another chance to overcome my fear of public speaking and meet even more inspiring individuals in Seattle! The point of this story isn't to toot my own horn at all, it's simply to illustrate an example of how conquering my fear of public speaking and being social has completely changed my life.
Ok, that's dramatic... but seriously, just looking back on the Style Boss event makes me smile because I crushed my #girlboss goal and I also didn't suck at public speaking. I'm not to the point of being 100% confident in my ability to speak eloquently to strangers, but if you had asked me a year ago if I'd sit on a panel and speak to women about creating a stylish work wardrobe, I probably would've laughed (and been terrified at the same time just thinking about it)! The photos below are from the event and I've linked the looks I styled from J.Crew at the end of this post!
Style Boss Photos by Vivian Hsu Photography
So, if you walk away from this post with one thing, I hope it is inspiration to overcome whatever fear you may have that is holding you back from living out your dreams. Oh, and that sleeveless trench coats are another fabulous way to transition your work wardrobe from day to night (and wear an open back dress to the office)!
I cannot thank you enough for visiting Me & Mr. Jones today (and reading my longest post ever)! Going forward, it is my goal to always leave you inspired and I hope that I have done so today!
Have a great day, boss babes!
Shop my look...
Shop my Style Boss J.Crew looks...